Automatically selective indexed memorandum device



Feb. 13, 1951 F. s. AJl-:Ro 2,541,903

AUTOMATICALLY SELECTIVE INDEXED MEMORANDUM DEVICE Feb. 13, 1951 F. s. AJERO AUTOMATICALLY SEEECTIVE INDEXED MEMORANDUM DEVICE 2 Sheets-Shea?. 2

Filed March 29, 1946 Patented Feb. 13, 1951 UNITED AUTOMATICALLY SELECTIVE INDEXED MEMGRANDUM DEVICE.

Fortunato S. Ajero, Chicago, Ill., as signor to Mary Lee Hyre, Antioch, Il l.

l Application March 29, 1946, Serial No. 658,317

Claims. (Cl. dii-104) This application is a continuation-in-partof my abandoned application Serial No. 551,163', filed August 25, i944, which ink turn vvas a continuation-in-part of my abandoned application Serial No. 537,957, led May 29,1944;

The presentV invention relates to improved memorandum devices, and more particularly to an improved indexed memorandum device which .automatically exposes a pre-selected memorandum page ywhen the cover of said deviceV opens.

My invention comprises a receptacle provided with a covei` hinged thereto, spring means to urge said cover to the open position, a plurality of indexed memorandum sheets in said receptacle, and means to pre-select .a number of said sheets to swing upwards withthe opening cover thereby exposing. the particularly desired memorandum sheet for immediate reference'. A

In a preferred form of my invention", the selection of the desired memorandum page and the release of the cover latch is accomplished by actuation of one knob in a single motion; thereby permitting the user of the. device free and full employment of one hand While speedily exposing the desired reference With the other hand.

Previous known automatically selective memorandum devices have possessed certain disadvantages Which are cured by my invention. Heretofore, in such articles, it has been necessary to set the selecting means and release the cover by operating unrelated knobs, slides, or buttons at separate points upon the. device. The usercould not operate the selecting mechanism and release the cover simultaneously without employing both hands.. In the preferred form of my invention the desired reference may 'be selected and the cover opened by a single', uninterrupted motion of rotation and pressure upon one knob. The user Will nd this preferred embodiment of' my invention particularly convenient if he isengaged in telephone conversation or otherwise has one hand. occupied when he requiresY a reference. Since there is no wasted motion in movingY the hand from selecting means to cover release latch, the operation of'this preferred form of my invention is considerably faster than that of the previously. known devices. l

The selector arm of my invention is set by rotation of a knob: at the endA ofA a shaft upon which the selector arm is pivoted; Most of the prior art devices employ aV slide and track index which is more expensive to manufacture and assemble and more prone to misalignmentand breakage than my invention. Slots in the covers of prior artv devices to form vvaysforu the'slide index p ermit the entry of dust and dirt tothe 2 memoranda. My invention contains the memoranda in a complete enclosure where they cannot be soiled. My inventionk incorporates a pencil or pen-bearing socket which presents itself ready to the hand of the user as the cover opens' thus enhancing the convenience of the device. My invention is simple .and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and` the movement of parts therein is minimized thus affording. the device a compactness Whichleadsto stream-lined and attractive design,

The principal object of my invention, therefore, is to provide an improved` Vautoma-.tically selective, indexed memorandum device which is sturdy, inexpensive, eiicient, and attractive.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved automatically selective, indexed vpresents a WritingA means readyto the hand as the cover opens thus enhancing the convenience of said device-to the user thereof.H

Still another-object of myrinvention` is toi provide suchv a device in which thev memoranda therein are fully protected from dirt and damage.

The foregoingv and suc-hA other advantagea. objects, andv capabilities as may appear herein or be'pointed-'asthis-description' proceeds, or as are inherent in the present invention, are illustrated in' the accompanying draw-ings, iny which:

Figure 1' is a planiview ofv a preferred embodiment-ofmy invention;`

Figure 2 isa front-view taken in sectionwonthe line2"-25 of Figure 1-;`

Figure Slis a detaiiedlfrontfview of the selector and cover release mechanism also taken in. section on the-line 2-2=offEigure Figure 4 is a front elevational vievvfof'the device of Figure`I 1`- in openfposition;

Figure is' al perspective vievvoff the spring arm Which constrains the cover to the base in! closed position inthe deviceof FigureV 1`; y

Figure 6-is1a fragmentaryA front -Vievv taken in section on the line 6-6`offligure I,- and showing a hinged connection of the memorand'um` sheets and ameansefor fastening the memorandum pad to the baseoffthe--device; and? Figure 7f isA alv rear' view insection onl the: line T- l of Figure 1*, and' illustrating the mounting and operation of the pencilsocket" by the opening cover.

Like referencecharacters? are us'edl to ydesignate similar parts in the drawings and in the descrp- 4 tion of invention which follows.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, my improved automatically selective, indexed memorandum device I includes a base II and a cover I2. The cover I2 is formed with a peripheral flange I3 (Figures 2 and 4) which fits closely upon the base II at the two sides and one end oi the device II) when said cover I2 is closed. At the other end of the device IIJ the cover I2 is hinged to the base II by two pins I4 and I5 journaled in base ilanges I5 and I'I respectively and in the peripheral cover flange I3 (Figure l). At this hinged end of the device Il) the cover flange I3 terminates slightly short of the base II as it must clear the base when the cover I2 rotates to open. A torsion spring IB is positioned about the pin I4 with the ends of said Y spring constrained between the cover I2 and the base Ii. Thus, the tension in said spring I8 is constantly urging the cover I2 to rotate up from the base II into the open position, and the force of said spring I8 is suiicient to lift the cover I2 when said cover is not latched to the base.

As best illustrated inV Figures 4 and '7, a pencil socket IQ is journaled upon the hinge-pin l5. The socket i9. is formed with a lug projecting in the path of the cover ange I5. When the cover I2 is opening the flange I3 pushes upon the lug 2i) thus rotating the socket I5 to present a pencil 2l in said socket ready to the hand of the user. When the cover I2 is closing, gravity brings the socket I9 into its rest position upon the base II. A stop 22 formed in the base II limits the rotation of the opening cover I2. The stop 22 is not extended to intercept the lug 25, therefore the socket i5 is restrained only by the cover flange I3 from falling back upon the base II. Said socket I9 is thus free to follow a greater angle of rotation if the pencil 2l is plucked therefrom at such greater angle.

The base II is formed with a transverse depression 23 at the head or hinged end of the device I. A base plate 24 (Figures 2 and 6) is riveted to the base II in this depression 23 at points 25, 25 and 21 (Figure 1). A pair of male ngers 28 and 29 project from the base plate 24 to engage female perforations in the back member 30 of the stack of memorandum cards 3I. rThe memorandum cards 3| are hingedly connected to each other through perforations at one edge of each card by the plurality of rings 32, 33, 34 and 35 (Figures l and 6). The memorandum cards 3l are thus retained to the base I'I through the back member 30 yet said cards 3i are individually free to swing open with the cover I2 when selected to do so in a manner presently to be described.

The cards 3| terminate remote from their hinged ends in arcuate tabs 36 subtended by equal radii and by central angles which decrease in equal increments from card to card from the top to the bottom of the stack (Figures l and 2). The top card in the stack thus has the tab of the longest arc length and the bottom card of .the stack has the tab of the shortest arc length.

Holes 31 and 38 in the cover I2 and base Il respectively are aligned with perforations 39 in the cards 3i at the centers of the arcuate tabs 35 (Figure 3) A shaft 4I) is centered in the perforations 39 and the cover hole 37 and said shaft 4i] terminates in a knob 4I above the cover I2. The knob 4I is formed with a hexagonal recess 42 into which is slidably tted a hexagonal adapter 43. A helical spring 44 around the shaft 4I] is constrained in the hexagonal recess 42 between the knob 4I and the adapter 43. An index pointer 45 is integrally formed upon the adapter 43 and rotates with said adapter to sweep the arc of the index notations upon the cover I2 indicated by the letters of the alphabet in Figure l.

The adapter 43 is formed with a square recess 45 and a cylindrical bore 4l (Figure 3). A squarely-shaped sleeve 45 is press-tted into the recess 46 to project through the cover hole 3l. Below the cover I2, the squarely-shaped sleeve 43 carries a ratchet arm 43 immediately below and aligned with the index pointer 45. The tip oi the ratchet arm 49 is formed with a dimple 5I) to cup the ratchet projections 5i in the under suriace of the cover` i2 along the arc of the alphabet index. The squarely-shaped sleeve 48 also carries a selector arrn 52 which terminates in a hook 53 the free end of which extends beneath the arcuate tabs 36. f

It is now apparent that if the selector arm 52 swings upward with the cover i2 as the latter opens, the hook 53 will engage some of the arcuate tabs 3E and swing the cards SI of those engaged tabs 35 up with said cover. The number of the arcuate tabs 35 engaged by the hook 53 depends upon the position of the selector arm 52. Referring to Figure l, if the selector arm 52 is positioned at the top of the arc of its travel, the hook 53 will engage only those tabs 35 of longest arc length and the great majority of the cards 3| will remain resting upon the base II as the cover i2 opens. If the selector arm 52 is positioned at the bottom of the arc of its travel, the hook 53 will engage even the tabs 35 of very short arc length and will swing most of the cards 3i with the opening cover. It is apparent that the cards 3| may be individually designated by the letters of the alphabet index on the cover I2, and that the rotation of the index pointer 45 may be calibrated with the rotation of the selector arm,

52, whereby the indication of a letter by the pointer 45 will position the selectoi` arm 52 toy swing with the opening cover all the cards 3l. above the card designated by the indicated letter thereby exposing the selected card at the top of the stack which remains resting upon the base II.

Referring now to Figure 3 as the best illustration, a cylindrical sleeve 54 is press-litted into the bore 4i of the adapter 43 and into the bore 55 of the squarely-shaped sleeve 43. The cylindrical sleeve 54 projects through the base hole 38 and terminates in a rst annular flange 55 immediately below the base Ii. A second annular flange 5l is formed upon the cylindrical sleeve 54 immediately below the squarely-shaped sleeve 48.

The shaft 4d is paired with the bore 58 of the cylindrical sleeve 54. A collar 59 is slidably tted upon said sleeve 54 between the first annular ange 55 and the second annular flange 5'?. This collar 55 is keyed by the pin 65 to the shaft 45 through the slots 5I and 52 in the sleeve 54. A spring arm 53, whose shape is disclosed by Figure 5, is riveted to the base II through the hole 54 in its head 55. The flat tip 33 of said spring arm 63 is twisted and engages the rst annular flange 53 of the cylindrical sleeve 54 at the angle shown in Figure 3. The sleeve 54 is thus restrained from upward movement. Since the sleeve 54 .is tightly pressed within the bore 4l of the adapter 43 which adapter in turn bears upon the cover I2, said cover is thus restrained in the closed position upon the base I I. Y

The cover I2 is released to rotate to the open i position by slight pressure upon the knob 4I. Such pressure depresses the shaft 4I causing the collar 59110 slide down upon the sleeve 54. The collar 59 wedges the flat tip 66 of the spring arm G3 from engagement with the ange 55. The de-y flection of the tip 66 is permitted by the cutout El in the base II (Figure 1). The sleeve 54 is freed for upward movement and the cover I2 is no longer constrained to the base II. The cover spring I8 has suihcient force when the pressure of the hand is released at the knob 4I to rotate the cover I2 to the limit of the stop 22. VThe hand of the user, in drawing away from the knob 4|, restrains the cover IZ from snapping back too sharply and the entire movement of said cover in opening is fast and smooth. Y

Selection of the desired reference is made by rotation of the knob 4I. SaidV rotation of the knob 4I rotates the adapter 43 and the index pointer 45. Rotation of the adapter 43 in turn causes the rotation of the squarely-shaped sleeve 48 and the positioning of the selector arm 52. It is thus apparent that the user may select the desired reference by rotation of the knob 4I and, without further rumbling at another point on the device, a slight pressure upon the same knob 4I will release the cover I2 exposing the 'selected card for the reference of the user. The open position of the device IG is shown in Figure 4. In order to close the device, the cover I2 is mereiy pressed back upon the base II. The spring 44, when handpressure was released at knob 4 I, has caused the shaft 4E! and the collar 59 to move up the sleeve 54. The tip 66 of the spring arm 63 thus can reengage the flange 56 and re-lock the cover I2 to the base II.

I prefer to construct my invention of synthetic plastic materials as I have found such materials lend themselves to practical, inexpensive and attractive structures. I have also found that the use of such materials permits the press-fitting of contiguous surfaces (such as for example the sleeve 54 in the bore 4l) to join such surfaces so tightly as to eliminate the necessity of screw threads or similar expedients. However, while I have described my invention as embodied in a specific form and operating in a specific manner for the purposes of illustration, it should be iin-,- derstood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of Which is set forth in the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. An automatically selective, indexed card device comprising: a base; a cover hingedly mounted upon said base; spring means to urge said cover in rotation from said base; a plurality of indexed cards fastened upon said base, said cards being hingedly fastened to each other and terminating in arcuate tabs subtended by equal radii and by central angles decreasing in equal increments from the top card to the bottom card, said cards each having a perforation at the center of said arcuate tabs, said cover having an opening aligned with said perforations; a shaft centered in said perforations and said opening in said cover a knob at one end of said shaft, above said cover; a spring in saidknob about said shaft; an adapter slidably journaled in said knob against said spring; an indicating arm carried by said adapter; a rst sleeve press-fitted into said adapter and journaled in said cover; a selector arm carried by said first sleeve, said selector arm terminating in a hook extending about, said tabs;

ttipo 'a second sleeve paired with said shaft and'press tted into said adapter and said rstsle'eve; a ange upon the end of said second sleeve below said base; a spring arm fastened to said'v base and engaging said second sleeve at said flange: and a collar slidable upon said second sleeve and keyed to said shaft, whereby depression of said shaft causes said collar Ato wedge said spring arm from engagement with said second sleeve and frees said cover to rotate up from said base.

2. An automatically selective, indexed memorandum device comprising: a base; a cover hinged to said base; spring means urging said cover up from said base; a plurality of flat members reste' ing upon said base, said flat members having alignedperforations therein, said cover having an opening therein aligned with said perforai tions; said fiat members being hingedly fastened together and terminating in arcuate tabs sub'- tended by equal radii and kby central angles decreasing in equal increments from the top flat member to the bottom fiat member; a shaft centered in said perforations of said flat members and said opening in said cover; a knob at the end of said shaft above said cover; an indicating arm rotatable by said knob; a selector arm also rotatable by said knob, said selector arm terminating in a hook the free end of which extends beneath said arcuate tabs; a flanged sleeve upon said shaft; a spring arm fastened to saidbase and engaging the iiange of said sleeve; and a collar keyed to said shaft and slidable upon said sleeve, whereby depression of said shaft causes said collar to wedge said spring arm from engagement with said flanged sleeve and frees said cover to rotate up from said base.

3. An indexed memorandum device comprising: a receptacle and a hinged cover therefor; a spring means urging said cover to open; a plurality of hinged memorandum sheets terminat-A ing in graduated arcuate tabs, said cover and said memorandum sheets each having an opening therein aligned with the center of said arcuate tabs; a shaft centered in said openings in said memorandum sheets and said cover; a knob at the end of said shaft above said cover; a selector arm rotatable by said knob, said selector arm terminating in a hook the free end of which extends beneath said tabs; a ilanged sleeve about said shaft; a spring arm fastened to said receptacle and engaging the fiange of said sleeve; and a collar keyed to said shaft and slidable upon said sleeve, whereby depression of said shaft causes said collar to pry said spring arm from engagement with said flanged sleeve and frees said cover to rotate up from said receptacle.

4. An automatic memorandum device comprising: a receptacle and a cover therefor; a plurality of hinged memorandum sheets terminating in graduated arcuate tabs, said sheets and said cover each having an opening therein aligned substantially with the center of said arcuate tabs; a shaft in said openings in said cover and said memorandum sheets; a selector arm rotatable by said shaft," said selector arm terminating in a hook the free end of Which extends about said tabs; a flanged sleeve about said shaft; a spring arm extending from said receptacle to engage the flange of said sleeve; and means keyed to said shaft whereby the depression of said shaft pries said spring arm from engagement with said flanged sleeve and releases said cover.

5. An automatically selective, indexed card device consisting of: a base; a hinge-pin journaled in said base; a anged cover pvotaly mounted thereupon; Vhelical spring means about said hinge-pin to urge saidcover in rotation from said base; a stack of indexed cards hingedly fastened to each other and terminating in arcuate tabs subtended by equal radii and by central angles decreasing in equal increments from card to card from top to bottom ofv said stack, said cards each having a perforation at the center of said arcuate tabs, said base and said cover each having an opening aligned with the said perforations; a back plate at the bottom of said stack hinged with said cards and fastened to said base; a cylindrical shaft centered in said perforations and said openings in said cover and said base; a hexagonally-recessed knob at the end of said shaft above said cover; a spring in said knob around said shaft; a heXagonally-shaped, squarely-recessed adapter slidably journaled in said knob against said spring; a pointer carried by said adapter; an index ratchet in said cover; a squarely-shaped sleeve press-tted into said adapter; a ratchet arm carried by said squarely-shaped sleeve and engaging said index ratchet to removably secure said knob in any desired position; a selector arm also carried by said squarely-shaped sleeve, said selector arm terminating in a hook` extending about said arcuatetabs of said cards; a cylindrical sleeve paired with said shaft and press-fitted into said adapter and into said squarely-shaped sleeve; a rst annular flange 3() upon the end of said cylindrical sleeve below said base; a second annular flange upon said cylinf drical sleeve` abovev said first annular ange; a spring arm fastened to said base and bearing uponsaid cylindrical sleeve at said rst annular ange'; la collar slidably fitted upon said cylindrical sleeve between said first and said second annular flanges; a slot in said cylindrical sleeve; and a pin extending through said slot to drivably connect said shaft to said collar, whereby depression of said shaft causes said collar to Wedge said spring arm from engagement With said cylindrical sleeve and frees said cover to rotate up from said base.

FORTUNATO S. AJERO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,598,705 Boye Sept. 7, 1926 1,709,990 Lungren Apr. 23, 1929 1,895,409 Drucker Jan. 24, 1933 2,010,909 Zell Aug. 13, 1935 2,115,537 Peter Apr. 26, 1938 2,141,761 Pollock Dec. 27, 1938 2,223,966 Peters et al Dec. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 73,058 Germany Apr. 15, 1893 

